THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND, by Dick Sutphen -- 22.2 KB
Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The Public Today
SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
The Birth of Conversion/Brainwashing in Christian Revivalism in
1735. The Pavlovian explanation of the three brain phases. Born-
again preachers: Step-by-Step, how they conduct a revival and the
expected physiological results. The "voice roll" technique used by
preachers, lawyers and hypnotists. New trance-inducing churches.
The 6 steps to conversion. The decognition process. Thought-
stopping techniques. The "sell it by zealot" technique. True
believers and mass movements. Persuasion techniques: "Yes set,"
"Imbedded Commands," "Shock and Confusion," and the "Interspersal
Technique." Subliminals. Vibrato and ELF waves. Inducing trance
with vibrational sound. Even professional observers will be
"possessed" at charismatic gatherings. The "only hope" technique
to attend and not be converted. Non-detectable Neurophone
programming through the skin. The medium for mass take-over.
I'm Dick Sutphen and this tape is a studio-recorded, expanded
version of a talk I delivered at the World Congress of
Professional Hypnotists Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although
the tape carries a copyright to protect it from unlawful
duplication for sale by other companies, in this case, I invite
individuals to make copies and give them to friends or anyone in a
position to communicate this information.
Although I've been interviewed about the subject on many local and
regional radio and TV talk shows, large-scale mass communication
appears to be blocked, since it could result in suspicion or
investigation of the very media presenting it or the sponsors that
support the media. Some government agencies do not want this
information generally known. Nor do the Born-Again Christian
movement, cults, and many human-potential trainings.
Everything I will relate only exposes the surface of the problem.
I don't know how the misuse of these techniques can be stopped. I
don't think it is possible to legislate against that which often
cannot be detected; and if those who legislate are using these
techniques, there is little hope of affecting laws to govern
usage. I do know that the first step to initiate change is to
generate interest. In this case, that will probably only result
from an underground effort. In talking about this subject, I am
talking about my own business. I know it, and I know how effective
it can be. I produce hypnosis and subliminal apes and, in some of
my seminars, I use conversion tactics to assist participants to
become independent and self-sufficient. But, anytime I use these
techniques, I point out that I am using them, and those attending
have a choice to participate or not. They also know what the
desired result of participation will be.
So, to begin, I want to state the most basic of all facts about
brainwashing: IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF MAN, NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN
BRAINWASHED AND REALIZED, OR BELIEVED, THAT HE HAD BEEN
BRAINWASHED. Those who have been brainwashed will usually
passionately defend their manipulators, claiming they have simply
been "shown the light" . . . or have been transformed in
miraculous ways.
The Birth of Conversion
CONVERSION is a "nice" word for BRAINWASHING . . . and any study
of brainwashing has to begin with a study of Christian revivalism
in eighteenth century America. Apparently, Jonathan Edwards
accidentally discovered the techniques during a religious crusade
in 1735 in Northampton, Massachusetts. By inducing guilt and acute
apprehension and by increasing the tension, the "sinners"
attending his revival meetings would break down and completely
submit. Technically, what Edwards was doing was creating
conditions that wipe the brain slate clean so that the mind
accepts new programming. The problem was that the new input was
negative. He would tell them, "You're a sinner! You're destined
for hell!" As a result, one person committed suicide and another
attempted suicide.
And the neighbors of the suicidal converts related that they, too,
were affected so deeply that, although they had found "eternal
salvation," they were obsessed with a diabolical temptation to end
their own lives.
Once a preacher, cult leader, manipulator or authority figure
creates the brain phase to wipe the brain-slate clean, his
subjects are wide open. New input, in the form of suggestion, can
be substituted for their previous ideas. Because Edwards didn't
turn his message positive until the end of the revival,
many accepted the negative suggestions and acted, or desired to
act, upon them.
Charles J. Finney was another Christian revivalist who used the
same techniques four years later in mass religious conversions in
New York. The techniques are still being used today by Christian
revivalists, cults, human-potential trainings, some business
rallies, and the United States Armed Services . . . to name just a
few. Let me point out here that I don't think most revivalist
preachers realize or know they are using brainwashing techniques.
Edwards simply stumbled upon a technique that really worked, and
others copied it and have continued to copy it for over two
hundred years. And the more sophisticated our knowledge and
technology become, the more effective the conversion. I feel
strongly that this is one of the major reasons for the increasing
rise in Christian fundamentalism, especially the televised
variety, while most of the orthodox religions are declining.
The Three Brain Phases
The Christians may have been the first to successfully formulate
brainwashing, but we have to look to Pavlov, the Russian
scientist, for a technical explanation. In the early 1900s, his
work with animals opened the door to further investigations with
humans. After the revolution in Russia, Lenin was quick to see the
potential of applying Pavlov's research to his own ends.
Three distinct and progressive states of transmarginal inhibition
were identified by Pavlov. The first is the EQUIVALENT phase, in
which the brain gives the same response to both strong and weak
stimuli. The second is the PARADOXICAL phase, in which the brain
responds more actively to weak stimuli than to strong. And the
third is the ULTRA-PARADOXICAL phase, in which conditioned
responses and behavior patterns turn from positive to negative or
from negative to positive.
With the progression through each phase, the degree of conversion
becomes more effective and complete. The way to achieve conversion
are many and varied, but the usual first step in religious or
political brainwashing is to work on the emotions of an individual
or group until they reach an abnormal level of anger, fear,
exitement, or nervous tension. The progressive result of this
mental condition is to impair judgement and increase
suggestibility. The more this condition can be maintained or
intensified, the more it compounds. Once catharsis, or the first
brain phase, is reached, the complete mental takeover becomes
easier. Existing mental programming can be replaced with new
patterns of thinking and behavior.
Other often-used physiological weapons to modify normal brain
functions are fasting, radical or high sugar diets, physical
discomforts, regulation of breathing, mantra chanting in
meditation, the disclosure of awesome mysteries, special lighting
and sound effects, programmed response to incense, or intoxicating
drugs.
The same results can be obtained in contemporary psychiatric
treatment by electric shock treatments and even by purposely
lowering a person's blood sugar level with insulin injections.
Before I talk about exactly how some of the techniques are
applied, I want to point out that hypnosis and conversion tactics
are two distinctly different things--and that conversion
techniques are far more powerful. However, the two are often mixed
... with powerful results.
How Revivalist Preachers Work
If you'd like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there are
probably several in your city. Go to the church or tent early and
sit in the rear, about three-quarters of the way back. Most likely
repetitive music will be played while the people come in for the
service. A repetitive beat, ideally ranging from 45 to 72 beats
per minute (a rhythm close to the beat of the human heart), is
very hypnotic and can generate an eyes-open altered state of
consciousness in a very high percentage of people. And, once you
are in an alpha state, you are at least 25 times as suggestible as
you would be in full beta consciousness. The music is probably the
same for every service, or incorporates the same beat, and many of
the people will go into an altered state almost immediately upon
entering the sanctuary. Subconsciously, they recall their state of
mind from previous services and respond according to the post-
hypnotic programming. Watch the people waiting for the service to
begin. Many will exhibit external signs of trance--body relaxation
and slightly dilated eyes. Often, they begin swaying back and
forth with their hands in the air while sitting in their chairs.
Next, the assistant pastor will probably come out. He usually
speaks with a pretty good "voice roll."
Voice Roll Technique
A "voice roll" is a patterned, paced style used by hypnotists when
inducing a trance. It is also used by many lawyers, several of
whom are highly trained hypnotists, when they desire to entrench a
point firmly in the minds of the jurors. A voice roll can sound as
if the speaker were talking to the beat of a metronome or it may
sound as though he were emphasizing every word in a monotonous,
patterned style. The words will usually be delivered at the rate
of 45 to 60 beats per minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect. Now
the assistant pastor begins the "build-up" process. He induces an
altered state of consciousness and/or begins to generate the
excitement and the expectations of the audience. Next, a group of
young women in "sweet and pure" chiffon dresses might come out to
sing a song. Gospel songs are great for building excitement and
INVOLVEMENT. In the middle of the song, one of the girls might be
"smitten by the spirit" and fall down or react as if possessed by
the Holy Spirit. This very effectively increases the intensity in
the room. At this point, hypnosis and conversion tactics are being
mixed. And the result is the audience's attention span is now
totally focused upon the communication while the environment
becomes more exciting or tense.
Right about this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced alpha mental
state has been achieved, they will usually pass the collection
plate or basket. In the background, a 45-beat-per-minute voice
roll from the assistant preacher might exhort, "Give to God . . .
Give to God . . . Give to God . . ." And the audience does give.
God may not get the money, but his already wealthy representative
will. Next, the fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out. He
induces fear and increases the tension by talking about "the
devil," "going to hell," or the forthcoming Armegeddon.
In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked about the blood
that would soon be running out of every faucet in the land. He was
also obsessed with a "bloody axe of God," which everyone had seen
hanging above the pulpit the previous week. I have no doubt that
everyone saw it--the power of suggestion given to hundreds of
people in hypnosis assures that at least 10 to 25 percent would
see whatever he suggested they see. (Note: If you want to KNOW the
FULL IMPLICATIONS of this RELIGIOUS MIND CONTROL,
CLICK HERE!!)
In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or "witnessing"
usually follows the fear-based sermon. People from the audience
come up on stage and relate their stories. "I was crippled and now
I can walk!" "I had arthritis and now it's gone!" It is a
psychological manipulation that works. After listening to numerous
case histories of miraculous healings, the average guy in the
audience with a minor problem is sure he can be healed. The room
is charged with fear, guilt, intense excitement, and expectations.
Now those who want to be healed are frequently lined up around the
edge of the room, or they are told to come down to the front. The
preacher might touch them on the head firmly and scream, "Be
healed!" This releases the psychic energy and, for many, catharsis
results. Catharsis is a purging of repressed emotions. Individuals
might cry, fall down or even go into spasms. And if catharsis is
effected, they stand a chance of being healed. In catharsis (one
of the three brain phases mentioned earlier), the brain-slate is
temporarily wiped clean and the new suggestion is accepted.
For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it will last
four days to a week, which is, incidentally, how long a hypnotic
suggestion given to a somnambulistic subject will usually last.
Even if the healing doesn't last, if they come back every week,
the power of suggestion may continually override the problem . . .
or sometimes, sadly, it can mask a physical problem which could
prove to be very detrimental to the individual in the long run.
I'm not saying that legitimate healings do not take place. They
do. Maybe the individual was ready to let go of the negativity
that caused the problem in the first place; maybe it was the work
of God. Yet I contend that it can be explained with existing
knowledge of brain/mind function.
The techniques and staging will vary from church to church. Many use
"speaking in tongues" to generate catharsis in some while the
spectacle creates intense excitement in the observers.
The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is sophisticated, and
professionals are assuring that they become even more effective. A
man in Los Angeles is designing, building, and reworking a lot of
churches around the country. He tells ministers what they need and
how to use it. This man's track record indicates that the
congregation and the monetary income will double if the minister
follows his instructions. He admits that about 80 percent of his
efforts are in the sound system and lighting.
Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of primary
importance in inducing an altered state of consciousnes--I've been
using them for years in my own seminars. However, my participants
are fully aware of the process and what they can expect as a
result of their participation.
Six Conversion Techniques
Cults and human-potential organizations are always looking for new
converts. To attain them, they must also create a brain-phase. And
they often need to do it within a short space of time--a weekend,
or maybe even a day. The following are the six primary techniques
used to generate the conversion.
The meeting or training takes place in an area where participants
are cut off from the outside world. This may be any place: a
private home, a remote or rural setting, or even a hotel ballroom
where the participants are allowed only limited bathroom usage. In
human-potential trainings, the controllers will give a lengthy
talk about the importance of "keeping agreements" in life. The
participants are told that if they don't keep agreements, their
life will never work. It's a good idea to keep agreements, but the
controllers are subverting a positive human value for selfish
purposes. The participants vow to themselves and their trainer
that they will keep their agreements. Anyone who does not will be
intimidated into agreement or forced to leave. The next step is to
agree to complete training, thus assuring a high percentage of
conversions for the organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree
not to take drugs, smoke, and sometimes not to eat . . . or they
are given such short meal breaks that it creates tension. The real
reason for the agreements is to alter internal chemistry, which
generates anxiety and hopefully causes at least a slight
malfunction of the nervous system, which in turn increases the
conversion potential. Before the gathering is complete, the
agreements will be used to ensure that the new converts go out and
find new participants. They are intimidated into agreeing to do so
before they leave. Since the importance of keeping agreements is
so high on their priority list, the converts will twist the arms
of everyone they know, attempting to talk them into attending a
free introductory session offered at a future date by the
organization. The new converts are zealots. In fact, the inside
term for merchandising the largest and most successful human-
potential training is, "sell it by zealot!" At least a million
people are graduates and a good percentage have been
left with a mental activation button that assures their future
loyalty and assistance if the guru figure or organization calls.
Think about the potential political implications of hundreds of
thousands of zealots programmed to campaign for their guru.
Be wary of an organization of this type that offers follow-up
sessions after the seminar. Follow-up sessions might be weekly
meetings or inexpensive seminars given on a regular basis which
the organization will attempt to talk you into taking--or any
regularly scheduled event used to maintain control. As the early
Christian revivalists found, long-term control is dependent upon a
good follow-up system.
All right. Now, let's look at the second tip-off that indicates
conversion tactics are being used. A schedule is maintained that
causes physical and mental fatigue. This is primarily accomplished
by long hours in which the participants are given no opportunity
for relaxation or reflection. The third tip-off: techniques used
to increase the tension in the room or environment.
Number four: Uncertainty. I could spend hours relating various
techniques to increase tension and generate uncertainty.
Basically, the participants are concerned about being "put on the
spot" or encountered by the trainers, guilt feelings are played
upon, participants are tempted to verbally relate their innermost
secrets to the other participants or forced to take part in
activities that emphasize removing their masks. One of the most
successful human-potential seminars forces the participants to
stand on a stage in front of the entire audience while being
verbally attacked by the trainers. A public opinion poll,
conducted a few years ago, showed that the number one most-fearful
situation an individual could encounter is to speak to an
audience. It ranked above window washing outside the 85th floor of
an office building. So you can imagine the fear and tension this
situation generates within the participants. Many faint, but most
cope with the stress by mentally going away. They literally go
into an alpha state, which automatically makes them many times as
suggestible as they normally are. And another loop of the downward
spiral into conversion is successfully effected. The fifth clue
that conversion tactics are being used is the introduction
of jargon--new terms that have meaning only to the "insiders" who
participate. Vicious language is also frequently used, purposely,
to make participants uncomfortable.
The final tip-off is that there is no humor in the communications
. . . at least until the participants are converted. Then, merry-
making and humor are highly desirable as symbols of the new joy
the participants have supposedly "found." I'm not saying that good
does not result from participation in such gatherings. It can and
does. But I contend it is important for people to know what has
happened and to be aware that continual involvement may not be in
their best interest. Over the years, I've conducted professional
seminars to teach people to be hypnotists, trainers, and
counselors. I've had many of those who conduct trainings and
rallies come to me and say, "I'm here because I know that what I'm
doing works, but I don't know why." After showing them how and
why, many have gotten out of the business or have decided to
approach it differently or in a much more loving and supportive
manner.
Many of these trainers have become personal friends, and it scares
us all to have experienced the power of one person with a
microphone and a room full of people. Add a little charisma and
you can count on a high percentage of conversions. The sad truth
is that a high percentage of people want to give away their power-
-they are true "believers"! Cult gatherings or human-potential
trainings are an ideal environment to observe first-hand what is
technically called the "Stockholm Syndrome." This is a situation
in which those who are intimidated, controlled, or made to suffer,
begin to love, admire, and even sometimes sexually desire their
controllers or captors.
But let me inject a word of warning here: If you think you can
attend such gatherings and not be affected, you are probably
wrong. A perfect example is the case of a woman who went to Haiti
on a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Haitian Voodoo. In her report,
she related how the music eventually induced uncontrollable bodily
movement and an altered state of consciousness. Although she
understood the process and thought herself above it, when she
began to feel herself become vulnerable to the music, she
attempted to fight it and turned away. Anger or resistance almost
always assures conversion. A few moments later she was possessed
by the music and began dancing in a trance around the Voodoo
meeting house. A brain phase had been induced by the music and
excitement, and she awoke feeling reborn. The only hope of
attending such gatherings without being affected is to be a Buddha
and allow no positive or negative emotions to surface. Few people
are capable of such detachment.
Before I go on, let's go back to the six tip-offs to conversion. I
want to mention the United States Government and military boot
camp. The Marine Corps talks about breaking men down before
"rebuilding" them as new men--as marines! Well, that is exactly
what they do, the same way a cult breaks its people down and
rebuilds them as happy flower sellers on your local street corner.
Every one of the six conversion techniques are used in boot camp.
Considering the needs of the military, I'm not making a judgement
as to whether that is good or bad. IT IS A FACT that the men are
effectively brainwashed. Those who won't submit must be discharged
or spend much of their time in the brig.
Decognition Process
Once the initial conversion is effected, cults, armed services,
and similar groups cannot have cynicism among their members.
Members must respond to commands and do as they are told,
otherwise they are dangerous to the organizational control. This
is normally accomplished as a three-step Decognition Process.
Step One is ALERTNESS REDUCTION: The controllers cause the nervous
system to malfunction, making it difficult to distinguish between
fantasy and reality. This can be accomplished in several ways.
POOR DIET is one; watch out for Brownies and Koolaid. The sugar
throws the nervous system off. More subtle is the "SPIRITUAL DIET"
used by many cults. They eat only vegetables and fruits; without
the grounding of grains, nuts, seeds, dairy products, fish or
meat, an individual becomes mentally "spacey." INADEQUATE SLEEP is
another primary way to reduce alertness, especially when combined
with long hours of work or intense physical activity. Also, being
bombarded with intense and unique experiences achieves the same
result.
Step Two is PROGRAMMED CONFUSION: You are mentally assaulted while
your alertness is being reduced as in Step One. This is
accomplished with a deluge of new information, lectures,
discussion groups, encounters or one-to-one processing, which
usually amounts to the controller bombarding the individual with
questions. During this phase of decognition, reality and illusion
often merge and perverted logic is likely to be accepted.
Step Three is THOUGHT STOPPING: Techniques are used to cause the
mind to go "flat." These are altered-state-of-consciousness
techniques that initially induce calmness by giving the mind
something simple to deal with and focusing awareness. The
continued use brings on a feeling of elation and eventually
hallucination. The result is the reduction of thought and
eventually, if used long enough, the cessation of all thought and
withdrawal from everyone and everything except that which the
controllers direct. The takeover is then complete. It is important
to be aware that when members or participants are instructed to
use "thought-stopping" techniques, they are told that they will
benefit by so doing: they will become "better soldiers" or "find
enlightenment."
There are three primary techniques used for thought stopping. The
first is MARCHING: the thump, thump, thump beat literally
generates self-hypnosis and thus great susceptibility to
suggestion.
The second thought stopping technique is MEDITATION. If you spend
an hour to an hour and a half a day in meditation, after a few
weeks, there is a great probability that you will not return to
full beta consciousness. You will remain in a fixed state of alpha
for as long as you continue to meditate. I'm not saying this is
bad--if you do it yourself. It may be very beneficial. But it is a
fact that you are causing your mind to go flat. I've worked with
meditators on an EEG machine and the results are conclusive: the
more you meditate, the flatter your mind becomes until, eventually
and especially if used to excess or in combination with
decognition, all thought ceases. Some spiritual groups see this as
nirvana--which is bullshit. It is simply a predictable
physiological result. And if heaven on earth is non-thinking and
non-involvement, I really question why we are here.
The third thought-stopping technique is CHANTING, and often
chanting in meditation. "Speaking in tongues" could also be
included in this category. All three-stopping techniques produce
an altered state of consciousness.
This may be very good if YOU are controlling the process, for you
also control the input. I personally use at least one self-
hypnosis programming session every day and I know how beneficial
it is for me. But you need to know if you use these techniques to
the degree of remaining continually in alpha that, although you'll
be very mellow, you'll also be more suggestible.
True Believers & Mass Movements
Before ending this section on conversion, I want to talk about the
people who are most susceptible to it and about Mass Movements. I
am convinced that at least a third of the population is what Eric
Hoffer calls "true believers." They are joiners and followers . .
. people who want to give away their power. They look for answers,
meaning, and enlightenment outside themselves.
Hoffer, who wrote THE TRUE BELIEVER, a classic on mass movements,
says, "true believers are not intent on bolstering and advancing a
cherished self, but are those craving to be rid of unwanted self.
They are followers, not because of a desire for self-advancement,
but because it can satisfy their passion for self-renunciation!"
Hoffer also says that true believers "are eternally incomplete and
eternally insecure"!
I know this from my own experience. In my years of communicating
concepts and conducting trainings, I have run into them again and
again. All I can do is attempt to show them that the only thing to
seek is the True Self within. Their personal answers are to be
found there and there alone. I communicate that the basics of
spirituality are self-responsibility and self-actualization.
But most of the true believers just tell me that I'm not spiritual
and go looking for someone who will give them the dogma and
structure they desire.
Never underestimate the potential danger of these people. They can
easily be molded into fanatics who will gladly work and die for
their holy cause. It is a substitute for their lost faith in
themselves and offers them as a substitute for individual hope.
The Moral Majority is made up of true believers. All cults are
composed of true believers. You'll find them in politics,
churches, businesses, and social cause groups. They are the
fanatics in these organizations.
Mass Movements will usually have a charismatic leader. The
followers want to convert others to their way of living or impose
a new way of life--if necessary, by legislating laws forcing
others to their view, as evidenced by the activities of the Moral
Majority. This means enforcement by guns or punishment, for that
is the bottomline in law enforcement.
A common hatred, enemy, or devil is essential to the success of a
mass movement. The Born-Again Christians have Satan himself, but
that isn't enough--they've added the occult, the New Age thinkers
and, lately, all those who oppose their integration of church and
politics, as evidenced in their political reelection campaigns
against those who oppose their views. In revolutions, the devil is
usually the ruling power or aristocracy. Some human-potential
movements are far too clever to ask their graduates to join
anything, thus labeling themselves as a cult--but, if you look
closely, you'll find that their devil is anyone and everyone who
hasn't taken their training.
There are mass movements without devils but they seldom attain
major status. The True Believers are mentally unbalanced or
insecure people, or those without hope or friends. People don't
look for allies when they love, but they do when they hate or
become obsessed with a cause. And those who desire a new life and
a new order feel the old ways must be eliminated before the new
order can be built.
Persuasion Techniques
Persuasion isn't technically brainwashing but it is the
manipulation of the human mind by another individual, without the
manipulated party being aware what caused his opinion shift. I
only have time to very basically introduce you to a few of the
thousands of techniques in use today, but the basis of persuasion
is always to access your RIGHT BRAIN. The left half of your brain
is analytical and rational. The right side is creative and
imaginative. That is overly simplified but it makes my point. So,
the idea is to distract the left brain and keep it busy. Ideally,
the persuader generates an eyes-open altered state of
consciousness, causing you to shift from beta awareness into
alpha; this can be measured on an EEG machine.
First, let me give you an example of distracting the left brain.
Politicians use these powerful techniques all the time; lawyers
use many variations which, I've been told, they call "tightening
the noose."
Assume for a moment that you are watching a politician give a
speech. First, he might generate what is called a "YES SET." These
are statements that will cause listeners to agree; they might even
unknowingly nod their heads in agreement. Next come the TRUISMS.
These are usually facts that could be debated but, once the
politician has his audience agreeing, the odds are in the
politician's favor that the audience won't stop to think for
themselves, thus continuing to agree. Last comes the SUGGESTION.
This is what the politician wants you to do and, since you have
been agreeing all along, you could be persuaded to accept the
suggestion. Now, if you'll listen closely to my political speech,
you'll find that the first three are the "yes set," the next three
are truisms and the last is the suggestion.
"Ladies and gentlemen: are you angry about high food prices? Are
you tired of astronomical gas prices? Are you sick of out-of-
control inflation? Well, you know the Other Party allowed 18
percent inflation last year; you know crime has increased 50
percent nationwide in the last 12 months, and you know your
paycheck hardly covers your expenses any more. Well, the answer to
resolving these problems is to elect me, John Jones, to the U.S.
Senate."
And I think you've heard all that before. But you might also watch
for what are called Imbedded Commands. As an example: On key
words, the speaker would make a gesture with his left hand, which
research has shown is more apt to access your right brain. Today's
media-oriented politicians and spellbinders are often carefully
trained by a whole new breed of specialist who are using every
trick in the book--both old and new--to manipulate you into
accepting their candidate.
The concepts and techniques of Neuro-Linguistics are so heavily
protected that I found out the hard way that to even talk about
them publicly or in print results in threatened legal action. Yet
Neuro-Linguistic training is readily available to anyone willing
to devote the time and pay the price. It is some of the most
subtle and powerful manipulation I have yet been exposed to. A
good friend who recently attended a two-week seminar on Neuro-
Linguistics found that many of those she talked to during the
breaks were government people.
Another technique that I'm just learning about is unbelievably
slippery; it is called an INTERSPERSAL TECHNIQUE and the idea is
to say one thing with words but plant a subconscious impression of
something else in the minds of the listeners and/or watchers.
Let me give you an example: Assume you are watching a television
commentator make the following statement: SENATOR JOHNSON is
assisting local authorities to clear up the stupid mistakes of
companies contributing to the nuclear waste problems." It sounds
like a statement of fact, but, if the speaker emphasizes the right
word, and especially if he makes the proper hand gestures on the
key words, you could be left with the subconscious impression that
Senator Johnson is stupid. That was the subliminal goal of the
statement and the speaker cannot be called to account for
anything.
Persuasion techniques are also frequently used on a much smaller
scale with just as much effectiveness. The insurance salesman
knows his pitch is likely to be much more effective if he can get
you to visualize something in your mind. This is right-brain
communication. For instance, he might pause in his conversation,
look slowly around your livingroom and say, "Can you just imagine
this beautiful home burning to the ground?" Of course you can! It
is one of your unconscious fears and, when he forces you to
visualize it, you are more likely to be manipulated into signing
his insurance policy.
The Hare Krishnas, operating in every airport, use what I call
SHOCK AND CONFUSION techniques to distract the left brain and
communicate directly with the right brain. While waiting for a
plane, I once watched one operate for over an hour. He had a
technique of almost jumping in front of someone. Initially, his
voice was loud then dropped as he made his pitch to take a book
and contribute money to the cause. Usually, when people are
shocked, they immediately withdraw. In this case they were shocked
by the strange appearance, sudden materialization and loud voice
of the Hare Krishna devotee. In other words, the people went into
an alpha state for security because they didn't want to confront
the reality before them. In alpha, they were highly suggestible so
they responded to the suggestion of taking the book; the moment
they took the book, they felt guilty and responded to the second
suggestion: give money. We are all conditioned that if someone
gives us something, we have to give them something in return--in
that case, it was money. While watching this hustler, I was close
enough to notice that many of the people he stopped exhibited an
outward sign of alpha--their eyes were actually dilated.
Subliminal Programming
Subliminals are hidden suggestions that only your subconscious
perceives. They can be audio, hidden behind music, or visual,
airbrushed into a picture, flashed on a screen so fast that you
don't consciously see them, or cleverly incorporated into a
picture or design.
Most audio subliminal reprogramming tapes offer verbal suggestions
recorded at a low volume. I question the efficacy of this
technique--if subliminals are not perceptible, they cannot be
effective, and subliminals recorded below the audible threshold
are therefore useless. The oldest audio subliminal technique uses
a voice that follows the volume of the music so subliminals are
impossible to detect without a parametric equalizer. But this
technique is patented and, when I wanted to develop my own line of
subliminal audiocassettes, negotiations with the patent holder
proved to be unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained copies of the
patents which I gave to some talented Hollywood sound engineers,
asking them to create a new technique. They found a way to psycho-
acoustically modify and synthesize the suggestions so that they
are projected in the same chord and frequency as the music, thus
giving them the effect of being part of the music. But we found
that in using this technique, there is no way to reduce various
frequencies to detect the subliminals. In other words, although
the suggestions are being heard by the subconscious mind, they
cannot be monitored with even the most sophisticated equipment.
If we were able to come up with this technique as easily as we
did, I can only imagine how sophisticated the technology has
become, with unlimited government or advertising funding. And I
shudder to think about the propaganda and commercial manipulation
that we are exposed to on a daily basis. There is simply no way to
know what is behind the music you hear. It may even be possible to
hide a second voice behind the voice to which you are listening.
The series by Wilson Bryan Key, Ph.D., on subliminals in
advertising and political campaigns well documents the misuse in
many areas, especially printed advertising in newspapers,
magazines, and posters.
The big question about subliminals is: do they work? And I
guarantee you they do. Not only from the response of those who
have used my tapes, but from the results of such programs as the
subliminals behind the music in department stores. Supposedly, the
only message is instructions to not steal: one East Coast
department store chain reported a 37 percent reduction in thefts
in the first nine months of testing.
A 1984 article in the technical newsletter, "Brain-Mind Bulletin,"
states that as much as 99 percent of our cognitive activity may be
"non-conscious," according to the director of the Laboratory for
Cognitive Psychophysiology at the University of Illinois. The
lengthy report ends with the statement, "these findings support
the use of subliminal approaches such as taped suggestions for
weight loss and the therapeutic use of hypnosis and Neuro-
Linguistic Programming."
Mass Misuse
I could relate many stories that support subliminal programming,
but I'd rather use my time to make you aware of even more subtle
uses of such programming.
I have personally experienced sitting in a Los Angeles auditorium with
over ten thousand people who were gathered to listen to a current
charismatic figure. Twenty minutes after entering the auditorium,
I became aware that I was going in and out of an altered state.
Those accompanying me experienced the same thing. Since it is our
business, we were aware of what was happening, but those around us
were not. By careful observation, what appeared to be spontaneous
demonstrations were, in fact, artful manipulations. The only way I
could figure that the eyes-open trance had been induced was that a
6- to 7-cycle-per-second vibration was being piped into the room
behind the air conditioner sound. That particular vibration
generates alpha, which would render the audience highly
susceptible. Ten to 25 percent of the population is capable of a
somnambulistic level of altered states of consciousness; for these
people, the suggestions of the speaker, if non-threatening, could
potentially be accepted as "commands."
Vibrato
This leads to the mention of VIBRATO. Vibrato is the tremulous
effect imparted in some vocal or instrumental music, and the cyle-
per-second range causes people to go into an altered state of
consciousness. At one period of English history, singers whose
voices contained pronounced vibrato were not allowed to perform
publicly because listeners would go into an altered state and have
fantasies, often sexual in nature.
People who attend opera or enjoy listening to singers like Mario
Lanza are familiar with this altered state induced by the
performers.
ELFs
Now, let's carry this awareness a little farther. There are also
inaudible ELFs (extra-low frequency waves). These are
electromagnetic in nature. One of the primary uses of ELFs is to
communicate with our submarines. Dr. Andrija Puharich, a highly
respected researcher, in an attempt to warn U.S. officials about
Russian use of ELFs, set up an experiment. Volunteers were wired
so their brain waves could be measured on an EEG. They were sealed
in a metal room that could not be penetrated by a normal signal.
Puharich then beamed ELF waves at the volunteers. ELFs go right
through the earth and, of course, right through metal walls. Those
inside couldn't know if the signal was or was not being sent. And
Puharich watched the reactions on the technical equipment: 30
percent of those inside the room were taken over by the ELF signal
in six to ten seconds.
When I say "taken over," I mean that their behavior followed the
changes anticipated at very precise frequencies. Waves below 6
cycles per second caused the subjects to become very emotionally
upset, and even disrupted bodily functions. At 8.2 cycles, they
felt very high . . . an elevated feeling, as though they had been
in masterful meditation, learned over a period of years. Eleven to
11.3 cycles induced waves of depressed agitation leading to
riotous behavior.
The Neurophone
Dr. Patrick Flanagan is a personal friend of mine. In the early
1960s, as a teenager, Pat was listed as one of the top scientists
in the world by "Life" magazine. Among his many inventions was a
device he called the Neurophone--an electronic instrument that can
successfully programm suggestions directly through contact with
the skin. When he attempted to patent the device, the government
demanded that he prove it worked. When he did, the National
Security Agency confiscated the neurophone. It took Pat two years
of legal battle to get his invention back.
In using the device, you don't hear or see a thing; it is applied
to the skin, which Pat claims is the source of special senses. The
skin contains more sensors for heat, touch, pain, vibration, and
electrical fields than any other part of the human anatomy.
In one of his recent tests, Pat conducted two identical seminars
for a military audience--one seminar one night and one the next
night, because the size of the room was not large enough to
accommodate all of them at one time. When the first group proved
to be very cool and unwilling to respond, Patrick spent the next
day making a special tape to play at the second seminar. The tape
instructed the audience to be extremely warm and responsive and
for their hands to become "tingly." The tape was played through
the neurophone, which was connected to a wire he placed along the
ceiling of the room. There were no speakers, so no sound could be
heard, yet the message was successfully transmitted from that wire
directly into the brains of the audience. They were warm and
receptive, their hands tingled and they responded, according to
programming, in other ways that I cannot mention here.
The more we find out about how human beings work through today's
highly advanced technological research, the more we learn to
control human beings. And what probably scares me the most is that
the medium for takeover is already in place! The television set in
your livingroom and bedroom is doing a lot more than just
entertaining you.
Before I continue, let me point out something else about an
altered state of consciousness. When you go into an altered state,
you transfer into right brain, which results in the internal
release of the body's own opiates: enkephalins and Beta-
endorphins, chemically almost identical to opium. In other words,
it feels good . . . and you want to come back for more.
Recent tests by researcher Herbert Krugman showed that, while
viewers were watching TV, right-brain activity outnumbered left-
brain activity by a ratio of two to one. Put more simply, the
viewers were in an altered state . . . in trance more often than
not. They were getting their Beta-endorphin "fix."
To measure attention spans, psychophysiologist Thomas Mulholland of the
Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, attached young
viewers to an EEG machine that was wired to shut the TV set off
whenever the children's brains produced a majority of alpha waves.
Although the children were told to concentrate, only a few could
keep the set on for more than 30 seconds!
Most viewers are already hypnotized. To deepen the trance is easy.
One simple way is to place a blank, black frame every 32 frames in
the film that is being projected. This creates a 45-beat-per-
minute pulsation perceived only by the subconscious mind--the
ideal pace to generate deep hypnosis.
The commercials or suggestions presented following this alpha-
inducing broadcast are much more likely to be accepted by the
viewer. The high percentage of the viewing audience that has
somnambulistic-depth ability could very well accept the
suggestions as commands--as long as those commands did not ask the
viewer to dosomething contrary to his morals, religion, or self-
preservation.
The medium for takeover is here. By the age of 16, children have
spent 10,000 to 15,000 hours watching television--that is more
time than they spend n school! In the average home, the TV set is
on for six hours and 44 minutes per day--an increase of nine
minutes from last year and three times the average rate of
increase during the 1970s.
It obviously isn't getting better . . . we are rapidly moving into
an alpha-level world--very possibly the Orwellian world of "1984"-
-placid, glassy-eyed, and responding obediently to instructions.
A research project by Jacob Jacoby, a Purdue University
psychologist, found that of 2,700 people tested, 90 percent
misunderstood even such simple viewing fare as commercials and
"Barnaby Jones." Only minutes after watching, the typical viewer
missed 23 to 36 percent of the questions about what he or she had
seen. Of course they did--they were going in and out of trance! If
you go into a deep trance, you must be instructed to remember--
otherwise you automatically forget.
I have just touched the tip of the iceberg. When you start to
combine subliminal messages behind the music, subliminal visuals
projected on the screen, hypnotically produced visual effects,
sustained musical beats at a trance-inducing pace . . . you have
extremely effective brainwashing. Every hour that you spend
watching the TV set you become more conditioned. And, in case you
thought there was a law against any of these things, guess again.
There isn't! There are a lot of powerful people who obviously
prefer things exactly the way they are. Maybe they have plans for?
Yakki Da